Public Affairs

Zhiwu Zhu: Assistant Professor of Biology Zhiwu Zhu will become a faculty member in the planned Environmental Toxicology Department when that degree program is established. He uses yeast cells to study the biochemistry and molecular biology of metal ions such as copper, which can trigger disease at abnormal levels. Zhu earned his B.S. from Nanjing…

For Carol Shennan, the new director of UCSC’s Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, navigating the sometimes antagonistic worlds of organic and conventional agriculture is nothing new. For nearly three years, she has been at the forefront of a research project that aims to resolve long-standing conflicts among environmentalists, farmers, and hunters in the…

Deborah Abbott has been named director of the Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgendered (GLBT) Resource Center. This new position was created to provide services and programming to support the GLBT campus community. Abbott, a UCSC Porter (College Five) alumna, is a longtime activist on GLBT issues. She coedited the book, From Wedded Wife to Lesbian Life,…

Gov. Pete Wilson has proposed an 8 percent state budget increase for the University of California in 1998-99, including funds to cover a 5 percent reduction in fees for undergraduates who are California residents. The governor’s plan calls for an increase of $175 million in state general funds for UC or a total $2.3 billion…

Shayna Lazarevich, after a court hearing Sasha and Andre, before the 1989 abduction Years of persistent police work paid off late last month when UCSC police officer Dale Kahoun recognized suspected child abductor Dragisa Lazarevich near the campus police station. Kahoun and his fellow UCSC officers had seen the suspect’s face dozens of times in…

Not long ago, economist Robert Fairlie was curious about whether the influx of immigrants to California was prompting the parents of native-born schoolchildren to pull their children from public schools and enroll them in private schools. Like any good social scientist, Fairlie did some preliminary research to explore the question and was intrigued by what…

Many of those who established subject endowments attended the December event at McHenry Library. Pictured in front of the wall bearing their names are: (Back row, l-r) Merryl Cicourel, Michael Clark, Marion Taylor, Charles and Jean Engel, Ton and Thelma Jue, Rolf Augustine, committee chair Lynn Stegner, and University Librarian Allan Dyson. (Front row, l-r):…

Holly Kunze, assistant specialist with the Institute of Marine Sciences, died as the result of an accident on January 2; she was 35. She worked with researchers Marcia Gowing and David Garrison on an Antarctic project identifying microscopic plants important in the food web. Ms. Kunze had a master’s degree in marine sciences from SUNY-Stony…

SANTA CRUZ, CA–Economist Lori Kletzer of the University of California, Santa Cruz, has received a prestigious career advancement award from the National Science Foundation to explore the disparity in the economic status of black and white women. Kletzer, an assistant professor of economics at UCSC, will conduct an in-depth examination of the roles of family…

Faced with staggering cuts in state funding in the early 1990s, UCSC administrators created a fiscal-planning process in which academic and nonacademic divisions, representatives of the faculty senate, staff, and students became key players in the development of each year’s campus budget. Even though state support for the university has stabilized in recent years, that…

Assistant and associate professors at UCSC were surveyed last May concerning their satisfaction with their working environment and their needs for support and mentoring. Survey results are summarized below. The report is also available through department chairs. Eighty faculty members responded to the survey, which addressed a range of topics, including, spousal/partner employment, the Faculty…

Three people committed to enriching the lives of others have won the top awards given annually by UC Santa Cruz’s Alumni Association. Marge Frantz, a lecturer emerita in the American Studies and Women’s Studies Departments, won the Distinguished Teaching Award for 1997. Frantz is highly regarded for her dedication to students and passion for her…